UK Podcast Ads Overtake TV, Apple Podcasts Video Impact, & More

Register here for the Trust and Attention: Why Sports Media Wins (And How Brands Prove It) webinar!Today in the business of podcasting:New data from the 2026 UK Advertising Landscape Study shows podcasting already reaches more 18-to-34 year olds in the UK than broadcast TV, challenging the assumption that podcasting is a niche channel for media planners targeting younger audiences.A case study from Primary Technology shows that publishing video episodes on Apple Podcasts roughly doubled plays and grew engaged listeners from 707 to 1,072, with no measurable cannibalization of the show's YouTube or audio-only audiences.Radio station groups once expanded into local CTV sales by leveraging their existing relationships and advertiser trust — a move that never happened for digital audio, despite targeting and measurement that now rival video in quality.The IAB projects U.S. digital video ad spending will reach $81.9 billion in 2026, an 11% year-over-year increase, with 54% of marketers shifting budget away from broadcast TV and 23% pulling from digital audio.A new white paper from Magellan AI and True Native Media argues that adding podcasting to a broader audio plan extends reach into audiences that streaming audio alone cannot capture, because the two formats serve fundamentally different listening contexts.To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.